site.btaOhrid Hosts Council of Ministers of Culture of South-East Europe Conference

North Macedonia's Ministry of Culture and Tourism hosted a two-day conference of the Council of Ministers of Culture of South-East Europe - Enhancing Culture for Sustainable Development in Ohrid, said the Ministry in Skopje. The event was themed "Sustainable Cultural Models for the Future".

The meeting was attended by ministers, deputy ministers and delegations from the ministries of culture of Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Turkiye, Montenegro, Slovenia, Moldova, Greece and Romania, as well as numerous experts. The conference focused on strengthening regional cultural cooperation, safeguarding cultural heritage, and the role of culture in sustainable development.

The conference adopted the Ohrid Declaration 2025, reaffirming the joint commitment of South-East European countries to enhance regional cultural cooperation, promote sustainable development and safeguard cultural heritage.

In his opening remarks, North Macedonia's Culture and Tourism Minister Zoran Ljutkov said: "Our cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, requires careful and responsible management. In the context of climate change, spatial degradation and pressure from mass tourism, it is necessary to apply integrated methodologies that bring together scientific knowledge, professional practices and modern technologies. Heritage preservation is not only an act of strategic planning but also a responsibility towards future generations." He noted that the global crises of the past decade clearly demonstrate that culture must be an integral part of social development.

Magdalena Landry, Director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, based in Venice, said that South-East Europe is a region of exceptional cultural richness, with its cultural diversity reflecting centuries of creativity and resilience, as well as the living identity of its peoples.

Next year, the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Culture of South-East Europe will be chaired by Moldova.